With the growth of fiber optic communication systems, numerous devices have been developed to house and manage the complex assemblies needed.
One such system is known as an optical fiber cross-connect enclosure. Standard enclosures include a sheet metal housing with removable hinged front and rear doors. For fiber optic patching applications, a removable hinged bulkhead divides the housing into a front and rear compartment with the rear compartment typically being deeper than the front. Removable panels, which contain various numbers of fiber optic adapters, are mounted to the bulkhead. In a typical application, fiber optic jumpers are routed to the front and rear compartments for patching. Front access to the front compartment is provided through ports at the bottom of both sides with routing rings positioned along a front management plate mounted to the bottom of the housing. Bend radius guides are usually mounted to the housing to prevent sharp bends in the fiber as it enters the enclosure. Rear access to the rear compartment is provided through ports at the bottom of both sides with routing rings positioned along a rear management plate mounted to the bottom of the housing. Accommodations for ribbon fanout blocks are also common when the ribbon needs to be individually connectorized. For splicing applications, similar housings without the bulkhead are used. Various types of splice holders and management methods are used by different manufactures.
There remains a continuing need for improvements to lower cost, increase efficiency, capacity and density and provide for ease of maintenance with optical fiber enclosures.
Optical material such as in computer chips is being used to process data and in the form of optical fiber to transmit the data and information. The use of optical fiber to transmit data requires the use of optical couplers to connect various components. Some of the difficulties associated with optical fibers include concerns related to the bend radius of the fiber cable and coupling.
Coupling is the merging or splitting of two data transmitters, such as merging fibers into one fiber. In typical applications, an optical coupler that accepts two optical cable connectors and merges the information is housed in an optical coupler cassette and mounted in a fiber patch panel on a fiber distribution frame. This optical coupler cassette requires protective packaging and consumes valuable space in the fiber distribution frame.
An alternative method of coupling is by incorporating the coupler into a jumper, an optical fiber cable that extends between two units. By use of a jumper with a coupler, the space on the frame of the optical coupler cassette can be conserved. Some solutions may incorporate the coupler into the mid-span of the jumper but these solutions are undesirable from an administrative perspective since the coupler may be hidden or buried under a plurality of jumpers.